Asking for permission changes the coordination speed by an order of magnitude.

· Bits and Bobs 4/6/26
  • Asking for permission changes the coordination speed by an order of magnitude.
    • A permission check is a sync point.
      • You need to wait for the counterparty to unblock you.
    • Sync points expand the coordination cost super-linearly.
    • That's one of the reasons with agent swarms, dangerously-skip-permissions is so freeing.
    • It's also freeing in human organizations, with "Ask forgiveness, not permission."
    • You trade off execution velocity for safety.
    • Sometimes that tradeoff is worth it.

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